Samsung to release low-end Galaxy M20 in S. Korea

Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it will release its Galaxy M20, a low-end smartphone, in South Korea to target budget costumers.The Galaxy M20 will go on sale via Samsung's online mall and other e-commerce marketplaces, including Gmarket and Auction, for 220,000 won ($187.30) on July 15.  Ahead of its official launch, the unlocked smartphone will be sold on the local fashion online shopping mall Musinsa, Samsung said. The device has a 6.3-inch display with a minimum bezel and packs a du

IndustryJuly 8, 2019

KEPCO to sell stakes in 2 affiliates to improve financial health

The Korea Electric Power Corp. plans to sell stakes in its two affiliates, officials at the state-run utility company said Monday, in a bid to improve its financial status.The two affiliates are KEPCO Engineering & Construction Co. and Korea Electric Power Industrial Development.  In a report submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in April, KEPCO said it plans to sell a 14.77 percent stake in KEPCO E&C and all of its shares in KEPID to pay off debts and enhance manag

IndustryJuly 8, 2019

National pension fund's total assets exceed 700 tr won

The total assets under management by South Korea's state pension fund exceeded the 700 trillion won ($596 billion) mark for the first time three decades after its birth, data showed Monday.The milestone comes 31 years after Asia's fourth-largest economy launched the income support program with its assets being equivalent to 37 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to the data compiled by the National Pension Service, the fund's operator.As of Friday, the fund's assets stood

EconomyJuly 8, 2019

S. Korea to send rotational troops to South Sudan

A new contingent of South Korean troops will be deployed to South Sudan later this month to carry out UN peacekeeping operations, the Army said Monday. A send-off ceremony took place in Incheon, west of Seoul, for more than 280 rotational troops to serve at the Hanbit unit in the African country for eight months.They are the 11th batch of troops to be sent there since South Korea began deployment in 2013, the Army said, adding that some of them will depart for the country later in the day, while

DefenseJuly 8, 2019

S. Korea urges Japan to lift export restrictions

South Korea's finance minister on Monday pressed Japan to withdraw its export restrictions on key semiconductor materials as the Japanese move could have a negative impact on the global economy.Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, said Japan's export restrictions run counter to the principles of the World Trade Organization.The comments came days after Japan began to tighten regulations on exports to South Korea of high-tech materials essential for the production of semiconductors a

EconomyJuly 8, 2019

Corporate debt sales hit record in H1

Sales of South Korea's corporate bonds hit a record high in the first half of the year, as low interest rates prompted companies to sell more debt, data showed Monday.  The corporate debts floated in the January-June period, including bank bonds and asset-backed securities, stood at 48.8 trillion won ($41.5 billion), up 12.7 percent from a year ago, according to the data by the Korea Financial Investment Association.  It was the largest corporate offerings on a half-year basis, th

EconomyJuly 8, 2019

[Newsmaker] Senior journalist accused of taking upskirt photo in subway

A senior editorial member of broadcaster SBS resigned Monday over suspicion he secretly took a photo of the lower part of a woman’s body in a subway station, according to the TV station.　The broadcaster accepted the resignation of Kim Sung-joon, 55, who had been one of its top news anchormen.　The Yeongdeungpo Police Station booked Kim without detention on suspicion that he took the photo without the woman’s knowledge at Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station at around 11:55 p.m. Wednesday.&n

Social AffairsJuly 8, 2019

[Exclusive] LG’s health unit eyes acquisition of biopharma Hugel

LG Household & Health Care, an affiliate of LG Group that manufactures cosmetics and household goods, has considered acquiring South Korean botulinum toxin maker Hugel as part of efforts to expand its “cosmeceutical” business, sources told The Korea Herald on Sunday. The LG affiliate was seeking financial investors early this year to acquire the domestic biopharmaceutical firm, which is developing patch-type BTX, an innovative alternative to the conventional injection form of the

IndustryJuly 8, 2019

Chaebol chiefs to meet Moon, top policymakers over Japan’s ‘chip moves’

Amid intensifying fears over Japan’s retaliatory moves against Korea, leaders of major South Korean conglomerates were invited to a private meeting with top policymakers on Sunday to discuss countermeasures, according to reports. Economy and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Kim Sang-jo, presidential chief of staff for policy, were to meet Hyundai Motor Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and LG Group Chairman Koo Gwang-mo, Yonhap News Agency reported, citin

IndustryJuly 7, 2019

[Feature] Hanawon: Helping NK defectors settle better in capitalist South

Since the two Koreas separated in 1953, about 33,000 North Koreans have taken the life-risking, circuitous journey to the other side of the border, seeking to escape hunger and oppression in their homeland.In order to reduce unfamiliarity and help the North Korean defectors stand on their own in the capitalist South, the government here established the Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees, commonly known as Hanawon. Almost all North Korean defectors undertake a 12-week course at H

North KoreaJuly 7, 2019

Samsung Electronics VP heads to Japan amid export curbs on chips materials

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong traveled to Japan on Sunday, apparently to meet with local business leaders and discuss Seoul's response to Tokyo's retaliatory limits on exports of high-tech materials.Japan said last week it would tighten regulations on exports of materials used in chips and smartphone displays to South Korea amid a widening dispute over Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II. Samsung Electronics and other chipmakers are experie

IndustryJuly 7, 2019

Gyeongnam FC terminate contract with ex-Premier Leaguer Mutch

South Korean football club Gyeongnam FC have cut ties with former Premier Leaguer Jordon Mutch.The K League 1 team said Sunday that they have terminated their one-year deal with the 27-year-old English midfielder, citing Mutch's failure to make an adequate transition on and off the field.Mutch, who previously played for Birmingham City, Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace in the Premier League, signed with Gyeongnam in February. But he only played eight matches and netted one go

SoccerJuly 7, 2019

Over 2,600 athletes to compete at swimming world championships in S. Korea

More than 2,600 athletes from 194 countries will compete at the upcoming world swimming championships in South Korea.The organizing committee for the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, announced Sunday that 2,639 athletes across six disciplines will take part in the July 12-28 competition. Registration closed last Wednesday.They will be vying for 76 gold medals in swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving.With 8

More SportsJuly 7, 2019

[Herald Interview] Bucheon film fest winner presents personal mental horror

Shotgun blasts rip through the tranquil scene of a coffeehouse to open “Daniel Isn’t Real,” a psychological horror film that recently debuted at the genre-focused Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. The portrayal is horrific in its intensity and brevity, cutting away quickly and returning moments later with police tape up and haphazard sheets unable to contain the crimson carnage draining down the floor. From the other side of the tape, an 8-year-old Luke who has jus

FilmJuly 7, 2019

[Graphic News] Japan resumes commercial whale hunting

　Japan began its first commercial whale hunts in more than three decades on July 1, brushing aside outrage over its resumption of a practice that conservationists say is cruel and outdated.　The hunts come after Japan decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission, a move slammed by activists and anti-whaling countries but welcomed by Japanese whaling communities.　The country’s Fisheries Agency said it had set a cap for a total catch of 227 whales through the season until lat

World NewsJuly 7, 2019

Hyundai E&C launches Caisson 227 at Singaporean reclamation site

Hyundai Engineering & Construction has successfully launched Caisson 227, a structure the size of a 12-story building that will play a critical role in Singapore’s Tuas Finger 3 reclamation project, the company said Sunday.A caisson is a hollow concrete structure that is used in the foundation of a bridge, breakwater or wharf. The 29-meter Caisson 227 will have its own 20,000-ton floating dock, increasing construction efficiency, Hyundai E&C said.The launch of Caisson 227 signals m

IndustryJuly 7, 2019

Japan’s export curbs bring attention to Tokyo’s capital in local market

Japan’s decision to restrict key supplies for South Korea’s semiconductor industry has shed light on the considerable size of Japanese investment in the nation’s financial market, stoking concerns over its impact on the nation’s economy if political bickering spreads to the capital market.According to data from the Korea Center for International Finance on Sunday, Japanese banks held nearly 21 trillion won ($17.6 billion) worth of outstanding loans in Korea. The instituti

MarketJuly 7, 2019

Korea No. 12 in world GDP rankings: World Bank

South Korea ranked 12th out of 205 countries in terms of gross domestic product in 2018, maintaining its spot from a year earlier, the World Bank said Sunday. The country’s gross national income, or earnings per person, came in at No. 30 in the world. The World Bank data showed Korea’s GDP in the cited period amounted to $1.6 trillion.  Korea had ranked 14th between 2009 and 2013 before climbing a notch to No. 13 in 2015 and reaching No. 11 in 2015 and 2016. The country then sli

IndustryJuly 7, 2019

[Andrew Sheng] After the protests, what next? A debate on liberalism

The old order is broken. No less than Russian President Putin has declared the neoliberal order “obsolete.” We now have to think the unthinkable -- every dream has turned into a nightmare -- the land of the free no longer seems to welcome anyone, while the freest economy in the world is under siege by massive protests.What is the New Order? How do we deal with the myriad problems of inequality, climate change, technological disruption to jobs, de-globalization and fragmentation of so

ViewpointsJuly 7, 2019

[Nisha Gopalan] If Masayoshi Son won’t invest in Japan, why should you?

Softbank Group’s Vision Fund has invested its $100 billion cash pile in 75 unicorns around the world. Not a single one is from Japan, its own backyard.That may be because the pickings are slim: While the US has 179 unicorns (private startups valued over $1 billion), China 93 and India 18, Japan has just two, according to CB Insights. How can a country that pioneered the Walkman and android robots fail to produce more valuable startups? The explanation may be somewhat arcane, but helps get

ViewpointsJuly 7, 2019